


Hero

by Miss_Nihilist



Series: I Think There's a Fault in My Code [4]
Category: Astro Boy (2009)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Guns, Hostage Situations, Kidnapping, Minor Original Character(s), Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24974551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Nihilist/pseuds/Miss_Nihilist
Summary: The shape of a boy about her own age came into view through the fading dust. His shirt and jeans were filthy and torn from his dramatic entrance, but Astro didn’t seem to notice. His hands were clenched so tightly that they were shaking and his eyes flashed blue with the untapped power of his Core.He wasn’t just angry. Cora looked at his face and winced. Astro wasfurious.
Series: I Think There's a Fault in My Code [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767133
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	Hero

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this one is "hostage situation." I got a bit distracted, but I like how this came out.

As the minutes ticked by, it was getting harder and harder to stay calm. Maybe if Cora had someone with her, like Zane or Widget or Sludge, she would have been able to convince herself to be strong purely because _someone_ needed to be. But she found herself alone, with nothing but the sound of her heart hammering in her ears and pacing footsteps.

She wasn’t sure how it had happened, exactly. Whoever had grabbed her was shifty, although still pretty stupid. Cora had been walking from her parents’ home to the park, to meet up with her friends, and all she remembered was turning a corner and then a sharp pain before everything went black. It was impressive that they had managed to kidnap her in the middle of Metro City’s busy, sunlight streets, although Cora supposed that most people were in their hovercars anyway, not on the sidewalks. 

Normally, she would be saying something snarky or sassy to frustrate the asshats who had grabbed her, but the bruise blossoming along Cora’s jaw was enough to convince her to be quiet. She knew that there were two people, but she still wasn’t quite sure what they wanted, or even where she was. They had blindfolded her and tied her to what felt like a pipe. It was an uncomfortable position, with her hands tied above her head at just the right height that she had to stand on her toes to keep the weight off of her shoulders. Cora was doing her best to stay quiet and figure out what they wanted, but it was frustrating when they weren’t talking.

She racked her brain for what they could want with her. They hadn’t asked Cora for anything, so it wasn’t something that she had. Her parents weren’t wealthy, so asking for a ransom would just be stupid. If they were going to rape her or cut her open and sell her for parts, they would have done that while she was unconscious, or at least taunted her a little bit. Freaks who did that shit always got off on the rush of power and had to rub it in. 

Her thoughts were put on pause when she heard one of them curse in the other room. Cora tilted her head to the side, trying to listen to them through the wall. “ _...sure?_ ” One of them — the man, Cora thought — asked. 

“ _No, I’m not sure!”_ The woman, his partner, snapped. She let out a shout and something crashed, no doubt broken. “ _Not… ure… Th...t… bitch, she… even important…? Robot…”_

After that, their conversation tapered off and all Cora could hear was the distant tapping of pacing feet. Again. _Ugh_ , she was getting sick of waiting. Anxiety was making her chest clench up, her stomach seizing with fluttering nerves. She had heard of other people's stories from being in her position, but she had never been kidnapped before. What were the chances of her getting out of this alive? _Fuck_. 

She wanted to at least _try_ to escape, even if it didn't get her anywhere. An attempt would be better than waiting around for whatever they wanted, right? 

Cora gauged her options for a moment. In the end, though, only one of them seemed viable. She let her weight hang on her arms, kicking off of the ground as best she could. She grunted with effort, straining, and struggled to keep her legs up as she swung further. Throwing her body weight forward, Cora got her feet up and braced them on the pipe that she was tied to. Her shoes slipped and she let out a surprised yelp as her body was tugged right back down. The sudden weight on her arms caused Cora to scowl.

Well, _that_ was completely pointless.

"Hey!" A shout caused Cora to stiffen, holding herself still as the woman's footsteps grew louder. There wasn't the sound of a door opening, just the steps getting louder until they were a few feet from Cora. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, banging around like that? Trying to escape?" There was a snort. "Save yourself the trouble. We don't _need_ you alive." The harsh tap of a gun to Cora's collarbone made her believe it. 

"Don't be ridiculous." The man, having apparently followed his partner, said with exasperation. "We're not supposed to kill people unless absolutely necessary. Do you _want_ to get our pay reduced?"

He shuffled closer and there was the distinct, unpleasant smell of aftershave. Cora cringed away automatically but, to her surprise, there was merely a tug to the blindfold and it was pulled off of her face. She blinked hard, adjusting to the light. As Cora expected, she was in a warehouse, tucked into an empty boiler room. The sunlight trickling in was dim, so either the windows were incredibly dusty or Cora had been unconscious longer than she thought. 

"This is such a waste of time," the woman muttered, crossing her arms. Cora looked her over briefly. Short and lacking upper body strength, but likely a runner based on her legs. Hair was kept trimmed, no good for grabbing in a fight, and she seemed to favor her right leg while standing, which made the left a possible weakness. "I don't see why we even need a hostage when an EMP gun will do the job just as well. It would be a lot faster and a lot less…" She rolled her eyes. "... _needlessly_ bloody." 

The man sighed and tucked Cora's blindfold into his pocket. If the woman was a mercenary, then he was clearly better suited to a desk job or as the secretary of a CEO. His neat haircut, lanky body, and pressed suit stuck out horribly with the warehouse as his backdrop. "You know exactly why, you were in the same debriefing that I was. Stop being obstinate. We can't risk any damage to the mechanisms." Something in his pocket beeped and the man pulled out a holophone much more advanced than the ones that Cora saw discarded on the Surface. He looked at something for a moment, then put the device away. "Now get in position. It's on its way." 

Chances were slim that Cora could take them both in a fight, but she felt pretty confident about her ability to run and hide. She made a show of rolling her eyes as the woman came to stand next to her. "Am I supposed to find this whole good cop, bad cop routine intimidating? Do you guys wanna save the evil monologue for later or just tell me your master plan now and get it out of the way?" 

"Shut the hell up, princess!" The woman yanked her gun out of the holster around her waist and brought it swinging down. 

There was a flash of pain, white spots in Cora's vision and her jaw popped loudly. At least it didn't feel like it was broken. She groaned and shook her head slowly, biting back a whimper when an attempt to open her mouth made the pain flare again. It was important not to show weakness, much as she wanted to. 

There was a scoff from the man. “Savage,” he muttered. 

Instantly, Cora was forgotten. The sound of the gun’s safety clicking off chilled her to her core. The woman swung around and leveled her hand, aiming right between the man’s eyes. “What was that?” She asked flatly. 

There was a tense pause. Cora finally understood her position. She would die if she said something wrong and it would mean nothing to these people. Her nervousness increased.

Lucky for the man, he was saved from having to answer by the steadily growing sound of rushing rockets. He scowled and waved the woman away impatiently. “Shut up and get in position. We can work out your fragile ego later,” he huffed. 

Cora thought that she was going to shoot him for that remark, but the temptation of the hefty sum waiting for her once her “task” was complete seemed to outweigh the temporary satisfaction of shooting him because the woman simply rolled her eyes and turned back to Cora. Stepping behind her, she grabbed Cora by the chin and pressed the gun’s muzzle against her jaw.

“Be quiet,” she muttered, “or I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”

Something vindictive inside of Cora wanted to point out that killing her defeated the point of having a hostage in the first place, but all she did was grimace. “What are you even hoping to get out of this?” She couldn’t resist asking. 

The woman opened her mouth, probably to tell her to shut up again when they were cut off by the sound of rushing air growing louder and louder. A click across the room alerted Cora to the gun that the man was holding, but before she could think too much on that, the building shook down to the foundation. 

The pipes holding her arms in place were creaking and trembling, but despite how Cora started tugging at them, they held firm. Goddamnit. Plaster rained down, coating her hair and face in a thin layer that made Cora cough hard. She found herself wondering what was happening, and that was when it clicked. 

_Oh_. Oh, no.

Panic seized in Cora’s throat and her guts twisted in horror. The building stopped shaking and, as the dust settled, Cora found herself blinking against the brighter light streaming in. A hole had been ripped through the steel ceiling. And there was only one person Cora knew that could do that. 

Everything was quiet as two piercing eyes locked onto Cora through the fading dust. The shape of a boy about her own age came into view. His shirt and jeans were filthy and torn from his dramatic entrance, but Astro didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he just didn’t care. His hands were clenched so tightly that they were shaking and his eyes flashed blue with the untapped power of his Core.

He wasn’t just angry. Cora looked at his face and winced. Astro was _furious_. 

Before he could do anything, the man cleared his throat. He waved away some of the dirt in the air and brushed it off of his pressed dress shirt as if it mattered. The gun in his hand was pointed directly at Cora. “Welcome,” he said in a sickeningly pleasant voice. “We’ve been expecting you for some time now. Astro, is it?”

Astro didn’t bother to answer. His gaze only strayed from Cora long enough to glance at the man, registering an additional threat and nothing more. “I got your note,” he said with venom. “What do you want?” Straight to the point. Seeing Astro so serious was throwing Cora for a loop. Even knowing that he was a robot, trying to wrap her mind around someone her own age — her best friend, no less — acting that way was difficult.

“I’m glad you asked. We’re from Kakariko City. You’ve heard of it, I assume, since your creator is the Head of the Ministry of Science,” the man said. 

“He’s my dad, not my creator,” Astro corrected automatically with a pointed glare. The anger on Astro’s face didn’t fade, but he turned contemplative, thinking about the question as his eyes flickered between the two guns pointed at Cora. “Kakariko City is another sky island. You’ve always been behind us in scientific developments.”

“And in the field of robotics,” came the man’s affirmation. “But not for much longer. Because that’s where _you_ come in, Astro. You’re going to shut yourself off, then we’re going to take you back and our top scientists are going to reverse engineer your incredible structure until we know you better than Doctor Tenma does. Then we’re going to dispose of you, the original, and make an army even stronger than you were.” 

Cora couldn’t help herself — she laughed. “What? That’s ridiculous! As if he would even _consider—!_ ” She was cut off with a gag when the woman dug her nails into Cora’s jaw and pried it open, shoving her gun into her mouth. 

On impulse, Astro started forward. The anger was gone and, instead, there was only fear and her name on his lips. “Cora!”

A gunshot went off. She recoiled, waiting for the splatter of her brains on the wall and for everything to go black. A long moment passed and nothing happened. Cora eased her eyes open and looked at Astro’s horrified face. But they were both unharmed. It was alright. 

The man had his gun pointed toward the sky. When he saw that he had regained Astro’s attention, he lowered his hand, aiming it at Cora again. “That was a warning,” he said calmly. “It will be your only one.”

A ripple of blue energy pulsed through Astro’s body. His eyes were burning with indignation. For a moment, his hand twitched, and then his fingers peeled away from his wrist and sunk into his arm, synthetic skin replaced with smooth metal as the cylinder of his blaster replaced where a human hand had been a moment ago. There was a low whirring sound as the barrel filled with energy, glowing an eerie blue. It caught on the cameras that were Astro’s eyes and gave him a sinister look that Cora had never once associated with him. 

“Let her go!” He demanded, aiming his blaster at the man. Astro’s arm was trembling. “Let her go right now or I’ll shoot you!”

“And then what?” The man sneered, stepping closer to Astro. “You don’t want to kill anyone. Even if you did, my associate will be all too happy to pull the trigger and put an end to your friend’s misery.” He jerked his head at Cora. Another step brought him close enough that Astro had to tilt his head back to maintain eye contact, lifting his arm to keep it aimed at the man’s chest. “So kill me. Kill us both. But you’ll also be killing _her_ , and oh, how would you ever be able to forgive yourself if you allowed that to happen? If we don’t bring you back, my city will send others. Who else are you willing to lose, Astro? Your “father”? The Surface children at the orphanage? Are strangers that you don’t know less valuable to you? Will you throw the entire population of Metro City under the bus?” He towered over Astro. There was no anger left on his face, just fear and consideration. The muzzle of Astro’s blaster touched the man’s shirt and there was a faint sizzle, but neither of them backed away. A smirk came to his face. “So what are you going to do, _hero_?” 

As soon as Astro faltered, Cora wanted to scream. She might have, had it not been for the gun still shoved against the roof of her mouth. He glanced over at her and she risked shaking her head, just a little jerk to the left and then the right. Mostly, Cora begged with her eyes. _No._ She knew exactly what he was considering and he couldn’t do it. Cora would kill him herself if he did.

Oh, but he would. He wouldn’t be the Astro that she loved if he didn’t.

Astro set his jaw, eyes narrowed. “Fine," he forced out, tearing his gaze away from Cora’s silent, pleading stare. He morphed his arm cannons back into human-like fingers and held his hands up in surrender. “You win.”


End file.
